


Beneath our skin

by BlueTulips



Series: The Murillo-Marquina home [4]
Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Body Image, F/M, Gen, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25400299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueTulips/pseuds/BlueTulips
Summary: Raquel struggles with body image issues - a baggage she carried form her past relationship.Sergio volunteers to fight it with her.
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Series: The Murillo-Marquina home [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831684
Comments: 11
Kudos: 69





	Beneath our skin

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I have been meaning to post over the weekend. But, I have been travelling. I typed this story in my phone, excuse the mistakes, please :D Hope you like it

Three baths a day and two laundry loads a week kept Raquel busy in Palawan. Although, her body is familiar with high temperatures, the seaside humidity tempts her skin to sweat a lot often. She insists on staying presentable and aromatic throughout the _so-called_ honeymoon phase of their budding relationship. Little did she know that she has involuntarily signed up for a lifelong honeymoon , as Sergio will never get enough of her even when they are old and senile. 

  
Throughout their first week, she wore all the turtle necks and straight cut pants that she brought from Madrid. They were practically dehydrating her. Her night pyjamas gave Sergio’s librarian pyjamas a tough competition. Sergio, however, was more interested in getting her naked so he hardly noticed what she wore to bed as long as it was easy to undress. From being covered from neck to toe, she slowly shifted to round neck shirt but stuck with the good old straight pants. When she goes swimming she wore a robe till she was near the water and draped it back immediately after she touched the shore. Thoughts about shorter fabric was mentally exhausting.

  
Sergio’s biggest leap was to move from regular shirts to lighter linen shirts. Marivi and Paula, on the other hand possessed, an innate beach gene. They compensated for the disgrace the other two members brought to island inhabitants. Looking at Sergio and Raquel was painful on the tropical eyes. 

  
“oh darling!!!! you are hurting my eyes!!” , Marivi furrowed her eyebrows in discomfort watching her daughter enter in a half sleeve shirt and full pants.

  
“Mamma, I love you too”.

  
“Soon, you are going to look like a baked chicken” she warned as she saw her daughter walk yo the front yard. 

  
Raquel turned a deaf ear to her mother and settled on the hammock. However, her words were still running in her mind. She stared into the clouds trying to remember the last time she wore something nice that highlighted her features. She did wear a white short skirt and spaghetti top when she met Sergio for the first time. But, they both did not care about their clothing as their reunion meant more than their life. She cannot remember the last time she was comfortable with her body. Alberto’s efforts to shatter her confidence by calling her a “whore’ or accusing her for ‘asking for it’ or his long demeaning lectures about how to dress like a “respectable mother” worked successfully. Burying herself under those thick layers of threads was the only insulation she had against his painful kicks. Eventually, she was grateful to her clothes and they became her armour. Without those layers , she felt exposed and scared. The logical part of her brain is confident that Sergio would never slap or slut-shame her for any of her actions . He would rather kill himself. However, these fears run deep within and the psychological trauma outweighs logic. Moreover, she is finally happy after a really long time. She was not going to screw it up because of some selfish wardrobe desires.

Sergio, however, heard the wise lady and suddenly reviewed his memory of Raquel’s clothing. He was able to resonate with his style, but not hers. This is only her second week in Palawan and she did not know any of the shops or routes, yet. Did she not want to be a bother to him by asking him to take her shopping ? why was she being so formal ?.And then, out of the blue, a memory hurt him so bad , 

  
_“.... when he tells you not to wear a mini skirt to work , you think its tender.... “_  
Was she worried if he would be bothered about her clothes ? Or worse, scared ? He hoped that his suspicions were not true. His heart wanted a confirmation and not settle for anything less.

  
“uhh...Raquel.... " he quickly jumped on his feet and marched to the hammock.

“Cariño... come sit with me... “, she welcomed him with open arms. He joined her on the hammock and took her into his arms.

“...I heard what your mamma said ...” , he caressed her hair while adjusting his glasses with his free hand. She immediately withdrew from his embrace and looked at him.   
“ uhh... ignore her.... “ she rolled her eyes. 

“ No I can’t.... “, he shook his head strongly. _Tell her he doesn't care if she wore a bikini or mini skirt_ , he thought.. “ Do you not like shopping ? “ he asked instead... _Tell her , idiot._

“ I love to shop !! “

“ Good then , there are many stores on the mainland and let's go. “ , he proposed. 

“why ? no... I m okay with my clothes at least for sometime.. do you not like them ? “

  
“Raquel, you are the most prettiest woman I have seen. Your clothes don’t define you , it's your heart I admire. Everything looks best when it's on you.”, he took her back into his arms. 

“That’s flattering... why then ?.” 

“ well, you are baking under these clothes”, he babbled.

“Sergio , I am _comfortable_ in them.” she argued.

“Raquel, I don’t want offer any unsolicited advice about your outfits . It's not my place. It's your body, your choice.. I don’t want you to dress uncomfortably worrying about what I might think”, he clarified.

“I know that!” 

  
“So, you really wouldn't want a nice floral beach dress ? a hot bikini ? shorts ? cotton tank tops ? “ , he stacked her with options.

  
“Did you read about women’s clothes ?” 

“well, yes I wanted to be informed about what woman wear in a tropical place.” 

“so ??? “ , he asked. 

“look... some people are comfortable with shorts and other nice clothes. I happened to like these “, she said with a smile. The sweat drop on her neck and face indicated otherwise. 

_How could she possibly be telling the truth ?_ “It's because of Alberto isn't it ? You told me about the mini skirt incident” , he confronted finally.

She looked at him with a blank expression and held him even tighter. She did not have to say yes or no. But, the sound of her ex-husband's name involuntarily made her cuddle into his arms and hold him as tight as she could. He took that as a yes. That controlling bastard, he gritted his teeth. He, however, chose not to explore that wound any further. 

“how about this ? I am dressed like a salesman myself. Let's both go to the market. We split and shop for ourselves. In the end, the person with the boldest purchases gets a reward “, he suggested.

"Are you negotiating with me, professor ? “ , she asked with an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Would that be a bad idea, inspectora ?”, he mocked in response. 

she shook her head and kissed him. 

“ So the reward ?.... “ , she asked.

“ yea ... I have something in mind.” 

“ you always have everything planned don't you ? “ 

  
“Talking about body issues is sensitive. I wanted to be respectful of your feelings... so , I rehearsed before I came here “, he admitted.

  
“fine... the reward then... ? ", she laughed. 

  
“ I was thinking, the person who wins the contest gets five chances to have things their way in bed “, he suggested provocatively.

  
“aaah .... so we are playing that game “ , she took the hint between his words. 

  
“ I thought you liked winning... are you chickening out ? “ 

“no, just thinking about a list of things that I want to do with you in bed!”, she laughed when the shade of embarrassment appeared on his face. He laughed it out. In fact, that would make him very happy . 

  
“Alright then. While you are replacing your wardrobe, can you replace the Granpa pyjamas too ? “ 

  
“That’s non negotiable, inspectora”, he said firmly

“fineeeee... I find it cute anyways “, she groaned.

  
Raquel was assertive that she will beat the professor in their game of attires. As agreed, they split once they reached the market , it took them a couple of hours to finish shopping. Each came back to their meeting point with a minimum of 20 bags. Raquel’s shopping bags covered her entire figure and she wobbled to their meeting point. They went straight to a cafe and got themselves a cold shake to get their energy back up. The ride back home was anxious, thrilling and exciting. After, what felt like a long dinner, they quickly hurried back into their room to display their selection.   
Sergio got himself a lot of loose cotton casual pants, uncollared shirts, beach sandals, swimming shorts , short sleeve shirts and a couple of 3/4th pants as well. Raquel’s vision numbed her. She know how difficult it would have been for Sergio to loosen up and let go of the professor in him. She was very supportive when he felt too awkward. Her eyes moistened looking at everything he did only to help her feel confident with herself again. She thanked her stars for making her feel like the most luckiest woman at this moment. 

It was Raquel’s turn. Sergio put aside his clothes and rubbed his palms in excitement. Her shopping experience was nerve wrecking. But, she pushed herself and fought her fears. It was a contest and she needed to beat the professor . The market was amazing , so many beautiful collections and she couldn't really pick. So, she ended up buying it all, after-all her partner is a millionaire. she showed him all the beach-y dresses she got - temple prints, polka dotted, floral, lacy . She was very doubtful about what she was going to show him next; scared if he would like it. She had bought a bunch of strapless and off -shoulder dresses. She always wanted to flaunt her toned shoulders. She wore them in academy and before marriage. When she saw them in the market she wanted to try them on again. Sergio kept a happy face throughout, which eased her tension. He was also carefully folding it all back after she tossed them across the bed. She had bought swim wear and bikinis for herself which was tough section to shop. The idea of going around in a bikini made her feel self conscious about her body. She decided to not overthink it and bought a couple. The last bag she unpacked had cute shorts, tank tops , sleeveless tops for both day and night wear . _Mission accomplished_ , he thought. 

  
“well, we all know who the winner is... “, he declared. She gloated like she won an Oscar. 

“Now ...! I take charge in the bedroom, professor” she said seductively. 

  
“Raquel, it means a lot to me that you fought your trauma. I really respect that. I want to express how appreciative I am of your bravery today. I seem to run out of words” 

  
“ I love you, cariño”, she cried in his arms.

He pushed all the shopping away and kissed her. Raquel was very proud of her too. She thought the toughest part was over. But, couldn't be more wrong. The hardest part was to wear these clothes and walk out of their room or worse, _the_ _house_. 

In the morning, she wore a nice cotton shorts and a tank top and, stood staring at the bedroom door. She wasn't confident to walk out. Once she went out that door she was exposed to what might be coming at her. _What was going to attack her anyways ?_ She shook her head to erase that thought, took three breathes and opened the door. She was hoping not to walk into her mother, if only , she was lucky. 

  
Her mom and the nurse were in the living room knitting . She greeted them and went to the kitchen. “Goood Mo.... “, Marivi couldn't finish her words taken aback by her daughters revolutionary change. 

Sergio who had just come back from the market greeted Marivi too. The shock only worsened after seeing his outfit. 

  
“ You both planning to kill me ? “ she exclaimed receiving a confusing look from both. 

“ Such an impulsive change overnight. I can feel my heart in my ears” she shouted in awe.

They both laughed and unsure of how to respond. “Sergio you cannot look this handsome. My daughter will have a lot of competition then .... “ she winked. Sergio turned red; uncertain if it was fear for Raquel or a blush . She laughed and went back to her knitting. Raquel wondered why she did not comment on her clothes. _Did she not like it ? Did she think it was inappropriate ?_ She looked at Sergio doubtfully, who just pressed her an assuring kiss. 

When Marivi got some alone time with Raquel she sat next to her, “you are my bravest little kid , you know that ?” 

“Mamma... I..”

“you always are. Life threw the toughest rocks at you thinking you were made of glass. But, you are as tough as a diamond. Beautiful, transparent, and strong.!!”, she said leaving Raquel speechless and in tears.

"Darling, as a woman, I understand how tough it must have been for you to fight yourself and be comfortable with you body again. You are an inspiration to Paula .... and to me. "

"The thing you had with Alberto was a test of courage. Probably the toughest exam. And, Sergio is the reward."

"Mamma, it still is tough. I have a lot to work on to undo the damages he caused. It is not a easy road", she signed heavily.

"Living is not easy, Hija. But, you know what else is not easy ?"

"Keeping that poor man hungry after looking so sexy. He is going to have a tough time to keep his hands to himself", she winked.

"Mamma..!!!! "

She was right. Sergio couldn't stop looking at Raquel. Her legs, bare shoulders and unintentional flash of her cleavage made him yearn for more. His eyes deceived him and kept looking her direction. This idol of beauty was in their kitchen making Pasta like it was a regular day. He cursed the sun for not retiring soon enough.

As promised, their love making was administered by Raquel. Sergio surrendered to her will and he couldn't be more grateful. Just when he thought, Raquel was the prettiest woman ever, she surprised him with her exclusive lingerie every night. A bag she never opened and kept it a secret. The poor man was hurting in admiration for his queen. 

  
As for Raquel, as days went by, she was getting more comfortable with herself and opening the bedroom door wasn't so challenging any more. 

Sergio walked into the kitchen to find Raquel kneading pizza dough. He chuckled when he noticed her face marked with traces of the flour. _Such a beautiful mess._ His eyes dropped to her handful rears as the bounced while she punched the dough. It wasn’t too long before he noticed his drools trying to escape his mouth. Though, she did not see him, she could feel his eyes on her. 

  
So, she punched the dough more frequently to kill the guy a bit more. 

"Raq.." , he cleared his throat. "Raquel. You can't wear these anymore...", he blurted. _What the hell ? Take it back._

The comment startled her. She turned to him tensed, scared and speechless.

"Sorry, I meant, You look too hot and it shouldn't be allowed"

She sighed and felt relieved. "Why not? Have some control, Professor!!"

"There is only so much control a man can have. The woman is not making it any easy", playfully accusing her. 

"Oh I was just making pizza for dinner. Oops, I dropped the spoon...", she said innocently, dropped the spoon and seductively bent to pick it.

"That's it!! ", he picked her up and took her straight to bed. 

"Hey let me go!!", she laughed.

"At least let me wash my hands", she asked

"You won't need your hands for this"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading it.. I am very excited to write more incidents involving the Serquel couple.


End file.
